Shutterbugs

Featuring Steve Corey

Early retirement from the nuclear industry allowed me to pursue personal interests and recreational activities. During my first years of freedom, I could be found at the beach at San Onofre, surfing and playing beach volleyball – all day, everyday. I stayed at the beach late each day and had watched literally thousands of sunsets, but it never occurred to me to photograph any of these many beautiful scenes.

After moving to the Central Coast in 2006 to be close to my family, I found the ocean water much too cold to surf (without pain) and I was becoming much to old and decrepit to play even recreational beach volleyball. This opened the door to other activities or hobbies. But which ones?

While hiking through the Antelope Canyon, I became mesmerized by the way light played off the sandstone walls. I began to shoot snapshots the way I had most of my adult life — take a trip, bring the camera, point and shoot. But this time the images turned out really cool and I wanted to continue exploring and using my camera to document new places. However, the film camera became jammed with desert sand and found a new home at the local landfill.

Enter the digital age. I purchased a brand new Nikon D-80 and was quickly lost with the 100 page manual. What to do? Living in San Luis Obispo County was like being on vacation. There were photo ops everywhere I looked, but I was a neophyte with my new equipment.

Then came the break that I needed. I read an announcement in the local Tribune about afree Digital Photo Walk (DPW) — novices and beginners welcome! I attended the DPW hosted by members of the Photomorrobay (PMB) Group, who took me under their wings and willingly and unselfishly, shared all the info I could absorb. I had found gold.

With the help of PMB, the San Luis Obispo Camera Club, and a group of friends and contacts on Flickr — a photo sharing site — I continue to learn something new about photography everyday.

Unlike other forms of art, photography — yes it is an art form — allows me to capture a single moment in time. A moment that can never be repeated. It may be a human emotion, unusual animal behavior, special sport action, or just the way light plays on a subject. Personally, I prefer images with a different or unusual point of view, natural patterns, or an image that will make the viewer stop, for just a second, to look more closely at what they are seeing.

Inspiration comes to me from a number of resources — Flickr contacts, mentoring friends and family, photo club and photomorrobay members, and just living here on this beautiful Central Coast. I love to share images and information and have others do the same.

Expanding photographic technology and photo enhancement programs and will require learning to be a life long experience. New tips, tricks, and techniques will be needed to maintain high photographic quality. Flickr and other media sharing sites and devices are excellent resources for new ideas, knowledge and inspiration.

Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe

Visit Steve's Flickr Pages

Previous Shutterbugs featured here include Linda McDonald, Catherine Ryan Hyde, Ronnie Goyette, Dorothy Cutter, Aiden Briggs, Devra Cooper, Ashala Tylor, Marlin Harms, Howard Ignatius, Elizabeth Haslam, Mike Baird, and Linda Tanner.

Monarch Butterfly on Banner by Mike Baird